HRC Denies Tribunal Funds Paid from its Budget

The head of the Higher Relief Council denied on Thursday that the funds of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were transferred from the budget of the HRC.

In remarks to al-Akhbar daily, Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Bashir said the payment of Lebanon’s share to the STL was not done through the Council.

Media reports have said that Prime Minister Najib Miqati asked Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh to open an account for the transfer of the funds from the budget of the Council, which is under the prime minister’s office.

According to al-Akhbar, the funding, around $32 million, was made from an account put at the disposal of the premier at the Central Bank. Most of the funds were from donations made locally and from abroad, it said.

Miqati stressed Wednesday that the funding was not a victory for one faction over another, and said the tribunal must go on with its work while making sure it remains "unpoliticized, neutral and just."

In his press conference at the Grand Serail, Miqati did not specify how he secured the funding.

Lebanon is responsible for paying 49 percent of the tribunal’s share.